In order to address the sustainability and resilience of protein systems, there is a need to construct new protein supply chains based on novel protein sources (studied in WP2). While Task 1 of WP4 deals with environmental sustainability of the primary production of protein, Task 2 of WP4 focuses on socioeconomic sustainability and resilience at two levels: food system and food supply chains.
A case study of collective agency in Central Finland will be carried out, including the investigation of both local micro-business networks and the institutional structure and arrangements of the protein system. Following the network perspective, we treat the local protein system as the unit of analysis. Within the main unit of analysis, several sub-units of analysis (individual protein supply chains) can be identified.
A qualitative study of sustainability and resilience in the protein system of Central Finland will address five questions:
- How the different actors and agents within the protein system are organized in Central Finland?
- How the behaviour of the key actors is affected by social influence and social learning in terms of possibility of “herding behaviour” among producers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers?
- What is the role of governance bodies (private and public) in managing protein system sustainability and resilience in practice?
- How different political perspectives or interests of actors may translate into different sustainability and resilience agendas in terms of protein supply and consumption?
- What is the social desirability of novel protein supply chains at the level of markets and institutions, i.e. how diet shifts fit into the food-related political and economic developments (WP1 scenarios) by the year 2030?